Kap Bambino - Blacklist

Label: Because
Release date: Out Now
Website: http://www.myspace.com/kapbambino
Buy: Amazon
I shall start this review with an anecdote. A few years ago I was attending Dot To Dot in Bristol. Halfway through the day I felt my spirits sagging, I had been drinking for hours outside in the sun and it wasnât doing my energy levels any good. I went below deck, I was at The Thekla in Bristol, for those who donât know it itâs a venue on an old boat, for a pick me up. However instead of an...

Label: Because
Release date: Out Now
Website:http://www.myspace.com/kapbambinoBuy:Amazon
I shall start this review with an anecdote. A few years ago I was attending Dot To Dot in Bristol. Halfway through the day I felt my spirits sagging, I had been drinking for hours outside in the sun and it wasnât doing my energy levels any good. I went below deck, I was at The Thekla in Bristol, for those who donât know it itâs a venue on an old boat, for a pick me up. However instead of an oral version I got the aural equivalent.
On stage was a woman in a leotard prancing around on stage shrieking into a microphone, behind a man was toying about with various bits of electronic equipment which was spewing out 100bpm drum loops and fractured synth beats which had my limbs moving almost involuntarily. I was soon right at the front in the crush of sweaty bodies and for the thirty minutes or so that Kap Bambino were onstage I was lost in that moment and nothing else mattered, except for dancing to the beat.
Afterwards I stumbled out of the crowd and back up top, I was drenched with sweat and re-invigorated for the rest of the day.
This sort of energy and presence is exactly what Kap Bambino try and re-create on Blacklist, their second album proper, and they nearly succeed. After short album opener, the eponymous Blacklist sets out the stall of what Kap Bambino are all about, processed beats, pounding techno synths, shrieked unintelligible lyrics, and some ass shaking bass lines they are free to let go. This truly happens during Dead Lazers which, after an inauspicious beginning builds up to a beautiful moment that when it drops will have all but the most staunch anti-dance enthusiast punching the air, shaking their hips and generally tearing shit up on the dance floor.
This is where the problem with Kap Bambino on record occurs. They make music that really needs to be appreciated on a dance floor, crammed in with dozens of other sweaty bodies, all feeding off each others energy and the general vibe of the two performers onstage. This feeling doesnât quite come through when youâre wandering around listening to it on your iPod.
The album continues in the same vein. There are a couple of bum notes in Lezard and Blue Screen and there are a couple of songs which are almost identical but when the album clocks in at just over half an hour with 13 tracks itâs not something that I would really hold against them. I would certainly recommend that you seek them out live as they are likely to blow your socks off and have you begging for more.
Rating: 7/10
MP3:Kap Bambino - Lezard